Like 99% of the SCM, I'm probably approaching this film with some reservations. That being said, I'm glad they did pick two good actors. I'm hoping this will be a thoughtful tribute like CHAPLIN. I'm a bit skeptical about the bickering scenes - I've never read of any disputes between them, as the conventional wisdom is they weren't especially close until after their film careers were essentially over. Chalk it up to dramatic license, I suppose.

This is a project long overdue, I feel, and I'm delighted to see all the positive comments on YouTube. You don't believe me!

Well, having talked to several who have actually seen the film (Chris Seguin, do you want to comment?), apparently the bickering scene is about 30 seconds of the film, so the trailer is just as usual playing up the dramatic stuff to sell the film, but what is amazing is how well John C Reilly nails Babe Hardy.

I never expect biopics to be much (I thought Attenborough's CHAPLIN was terrible actually), so the fact that the trailer for STAN AND OLLIE actually makes me want to see the film is a hopeful sign in itself. Will it cause a revival in interest in Laurel and Hardy among the millenials, of course not, it's a movie about two old guys doing music hall in the 1950's. Will it be historically accurate, of course not, because there isn't really much conflict in the story about what was a mostly pleasant tour for Stan and Babe. Will it be better than BUD AND LOU: of course it will.

Long time with no contribution, but I guess I owe it to you guys to rouse from my senile slumbers and do so as one who actually saw Stan and Ollie live before a packed to capacity audience at the Bristol Hippodrome all those years ago.

I can't now recall which familiar sketches they did, but what is indelibly fixed in my memory is the moment they walked on stage and stood smiling before the curtain doing absolutely nothing while the audience simply burst into laughter for what seemed to an awestruck youngster like ages. Eventually Ollie started adjusting his tie, and it stated all over again, and then with perfect timing Stan raised his bowler and scratched his head. Only after that did they manage to speak.

That wave of sheer emotion and love was the experience of a lifetime for me. I can't wait to see the new film.

RogerCarpenter wrote:Long time with no contribution, but I guess I owe it to you guys to rouse from my senile slumbers and do so as one who actually saw Stan and Ollie live before a packed to capacity audience at the Bristol Hippodrome all those years ago.

I can't now recall which familiar sketches they did, but what is indelibly fixed in my memory is the moment they walked on stage and stood smiling before the curtain doing absolutely nothing while the audience simply burst into laughter for what seemed to an awestruck youngster like ages. Eventually Ollie started adjusting his tie, and it stated all over again, and then with perfect timing Stan raised his bowler and scratched his head. Only after that did they manage to speak.

That wave of sheer emotion and love was the experience of a lifetime for me. I can't wait to see the new film.

An amazingly cool memory to hold and have in one's life and head. It is always wonderful to share with a group of like-minded folk that sort of affection for a beloved performer. Lets hope this film gets that sort of feeling across in the story it tells.

Looking at the US trailer with its slightly expanded "exposé" around the ZENOBIA affair, could you imagine if the filmmakers expanded on the "feud" something like this:

1949, Los Angeles: Stan and Ida go to the movies and after enjoying the latest Ealing comedy import, they see a trailer proclaiming, "THE FIGHTING KENTUCKIAN, Starring JOHN WAYNE and OLIVER HARDY - Coming Soon To This Theater!"

1950: Stan is happily packing his wardrobe for a trip to France to make a new film with his partner. He casually picks up the latest copy of Variety and immediately becomes grim at the front-page headline: "BABE HARDY SKEDDED TO BING'S NEXT FOR PAR"

STAN (to self): "Alright, Mr. Hardy, go to that hell-hole of an atoll and make that picture yourself! Strike three -- Ida was right!"

"Of course he smiled -- just like you and me." -- Harold Goodwin, on Buster Keaton (1976)